Entertainment

Apple Sold 3 Million iPads Opening Weekend

Apple announced on Monday that it has sold 3 million new iPads since the device launch on March 16.

The company, which had cited "record" sales earlier in the day, has now backed up that boast. “The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold―the strongest iPad launch yet,” Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of wordwide marketing, said in a press release from the company. “Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can’t wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday.”

Laying out opening weekend results is fairly unusual for Apple, which typically waits until its quarterly meeting with analysts to outline such numbers.

Apple didn't outline opening weekend sales for its previous iPad releases. However, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster estimated that Apple sold 400,000 to 500,000 iPad 2s the first weekend they went on sale last March. However, Munster said that Apple sold out of iPad 2s and would have sold more if there had been more on hand.

In 2010, Apple claimed that it sold 300,000 iPads on the first day they went on sale. Munster estimates that the company sold 600,000 to 700,000 iPads that weekend.

Unlike past iPad releases, the new iPad was available in 12 countries at launch. Apple is expanding the launch to 24 additional countries on March 23 at 8:00 a.m. local time.

BONUS: The New iPad

Apple's New iPad

The New iPad Details Hit Apple.com

The new 9.7-inch iPad has 2048 x 1536-pixel retina display, 5-megapixel camera (with the same optics sensor from the iPhone 4S) and 1080p video recording. It is available March 16 in black and white, powered by A5X chip (with quad-core graphics) and supports 4G LTE networks. It's 9.4 millimeters thick and 1.4 pounds.

Apple.com Touts New iPad Features

"Pick up the new iPad and suddenly, it’s clear. You’re actually touching your photos, reading a book, playing the piano. Nothing comes between you and what you love. To make that hands-on experience even better, we made the fundamental elements of iPad better — the display, the camera, the wireless connection. All of which makes the new, third-generation iPad capable of so much more than you ever imagined."

iPhoto Features

Brushes in iPhoto

"With brushes, touch-ups are exactly that — you use your finger to paint adjustments onto an image. Swipe over an area to make it lighter or darker. Zoom in to brush away blemishes with the powerful Repair tool. Select the Sharpen brush to bring out the fine details. Or use the Soften brush to smooth hard lines and edges. (It works wonders on wrinkles, too.)"

Credit: Apple.com

Multi-Touch Editing in iPhoto

"iPhoto completely changes the way you edit photos. You don’t need to be a professional or watch hours of web tutorials to know how it works. Simply touch the part of an image you want to change, then drag up, down, left, or right to turn any piece into a masterpiece."

Credit: Apple.com

Effects in iPhoto

"Choose from dozens of beautifully designed photo effects to give your pictures that little extra something. Something dramatic, something soft and dreamy, something from another era, or something just plain quirky. Use the swatch book to change the look and feel of each photo. Then pinch, zoom, or slide to adjust an effect. And just like that, you’ve applied hours of professional edits in the blink of an eye."

More Specifications

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.